Common's Electric Circus Hits NYC

It was stars only on the bill at The Roseland on Sunday (April 6th, 2003) night in NYC. First up—
Floetry, straight outta England. The floacist and songstress, a.k.a. Natalie Stewart and Marsha Ambrosius, wowed the crowd just like they did Michael Jackson (they wrote “Butterflies” for Invincible) and this year’s Grammy® committee (they got 2 nominations for their DreamWorks’ debut, Floetic).

Next the BK MC Talib Kweli backed by DJ Chaps proved his worth in lyrical weight. He mixed his set with Reflection Eternal (“Africa Dream,” “Too Late,” “The Blast”) and Quality (“Waitin’ For The DJ,” “Get By”) joints. Then he summoned Roc-A-Fella’s newest acquisition, Kanye West to the stage, while the Dream Team’s “Champions” beat played. Talib and Kanye performed Kanye’s duet with Mos Def, “Two Words.” Cincinnati’s own Hi-Tek was also behind Talib, but not the turntables, squashing any rumors that there’s beef between the two.

Time for some action! Old school vets Gang Starr then delivered hit after hit, including “Full Clip,” “You Know My Steez” and “The Militia” with Big Shug on the mic. DJ Premier kept the crowd hype and singing along to favorites by Biz, Biggie, Bel Biv DeVoe, Snoop and even Phil Collins. Krumbsnatcha came to rep Boston and performed his track, “W.O.L.V.E.S.” from the Training Day soundtrack. M.O.P. and Grandmaster Flash came out to show Guru and Premo love and Nice & Smooth brought the energy level up with their classic “Dwyck.”

Common closed the show. Two words: rock & roll. New tracks “Soul Power,” “Come Close” and old “Sixth Sense,” all had an added rock flavor, courtesy of Common’s full live band. Talib joined Common for Black Star’s “Respiration.”

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For more Electric Circus tour dates, check www.mcarecords.com.